Network-based sweepstakes systems and method

ABSTRACT

A system and method for automatically enrolling users of a website or other network-based service in sweepstakes. A user of a user computer system connects to a host computer system hosting a website or other network-based service and is awarded points for accessing features of the website or service. The points are displayed in real-time on the user&#39;s computer and transmitted to a database server, which maintains the user&#39;s point totals. The user is then automatically given a number of entries in a sweepstakes based on the number of points he or she has been awarded. Users may also be awarded points for accessing features of websites or services of third-party host computer systems.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system and method for generatingtraffic at Internet websites or other network-based services accessiblefor on-line communications and, in particular, for encouraging users touse a website or other network-based service by automatically enrollingusers in sweepstakes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With the proliferation of Internet websites, a major problem for websiteproviders is attracting and retaining Internet users. This problem is ofcritical importance because advertising revenues, which is the majorsource of revenue for many websites, is often linked to the number ofusers visiting a site and the amount of time users spend on a site.

One technique used to attract users is to award points for, for example,purchasing goods through a website, which may be redeemed formerchandise or other prizes. Such a technique is described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,774,870 to Storey. One drawback of this technique is that it isgenerally applicable only to websites where goods are sold and requiresthat the website provider have some manner of goods or services to beexchanged for points. Another drawback is that many Internet users arereluctant to make purchases over the Internet and therefore an awardprogram based on purchases will not attract these users. Still anotherdrawback of this technique is that it requires Internet users toactively redeem accumulated points, which some users may findbothersome. Another drawback is that it requires the Internet providerto provide and support a points redemption program.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a systemand method for attracting and retaining Internet users, and users ofother network-based services, by rewarding users for accessing and usinga website, or other feature of a network-based service, but without thedrawbacks characteristic of the prior art, as mentioned above.

It is another object of the invention to provide a system and method foroperating an on-line sweepstakes.

Briefly, the present invention provides a system and method in whichusers are awarded points, referred to herein as “bones,” for accessing awebsite, and, in particular, for clicking on hyperlinks within thewebsite. The number of bones awarded for clicking on each hyperlink isstored in a table on the web servers in the host system hosting thewebsite. A tally of the number of bones awarded to each user overvarious periods of time is stored in a database on a database server.Illustratively, these periods are daily, monthly and yearly. Thesetallies are used to automatically enter each user in daily, monthly andyearly sweepstakes, awarding substantial cash or other prizes. Users aregiven an entry in each sweepstakes for each corresponding bone and,thus, the more bones that a user accumulates the more likely he or sheis to win any of the sweepstakes.

When a user signs in to the website, the bone information for that useris retrieved by the web server from the database and stored in cookieson the user's PC. A box is then displayed on the user's PC stating theuser's current number of daily, monthly and yearly bones. The web serverupdates the display in real-time as the user accumulates more bones. Inaddition, the web server sends real-time user bone information to thedatabase server so that the database server can maintain user boneinformation independently of the information stored in the cookies onthe user's PC. In a preferred embodiment, the database serverperiodically transmits (for example, once a day) user bone informationto a sweepstakes system that conducts the sweepstakes.

The present invention thus encourages users to access and use a websiteby awarding bones that give users chances to win sweepstakes. Users areautomatically enrolled in the sweepstakes and thus are required to takeno action other than using the website. The invention can be used on anytype of website and does not require that the website sell a product. Italso does not require that the website host provide products or servicesas prizes or provide and maintain a point redemption program.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an Internet-based sweepstakes system of apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a portion of the operation of apreferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a web page in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the basic hardware setup of a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. A user at personal computer (PC) 1 connects,preferably via the Internet, to host 2. PC 1 contains a processor, suchas Pentium II, and memory. Host 2 is comprised of one or more webservers 3, such as Netscape Enterprise Webservers. The web servers 3 arein turn connected to database server 4, containing database 5. Databaseserver 4 is connected, via a dial-up connection, local or wide areanetwork, or other means, to sweepstakes system 6.

Briefly, PC 1 contains and executes browser 7, which enables PC 1 tocommunicate with a web server 3, and contains various persistent andtransient cookies 8 and 9. Cookies 8 and 9 are set by web server 3;persistent cookies 8 are typically set when a user registers with host 2and transient cookies are typically set when the user subsequentlyaccesses host 2. Browser 7 and cookies 8 and 9 reside in memory in PC 1.In a preferred embodiment, host 2 hosts a portal-type website, i.e., awebsite that provides hyperlinks to various services, various webpagesin the website and various other websites and services. When PC 1connects to a web server 3, it downloads a webpage, which is displayedby browser 7. The webpage contains hyperlinks that are typicallyhighlighted in some manner by browser 7. When a user selects ahyperlink, by for example clicking on it with his or her mouse, PC 1sends a URL (uniform resource locator) corresponding to the hyperlink towebserver 3.

In accordance with the present invention, a user is awarded points,referred to herein as “bones,” for clicking on hyperlinks. Thehyperlinks may represent, in the user's view, a request for a webpage ora portion of a webpage or a request for a service or other feature of awebsite. For example, a user may be awarded bones for performing sometask, such as making a webpage on host 2 the user's homepage or signingup for a service, such as email. In this case, the user may have toclick on one or more hyperlinks to complete the task, with the lasthyperlink, for example, indicating that the task has been completed.Alternatively, after the user has completed the task, host 2 can send aredirection response to PC 1, causing PC 1 to automatically request aurl associated with the completion of the task. Advantageously,different numbers of bones may be awarded for clicking on differenthyperlinks in accordance with a URL-Bone Table 12. Users areautomatically enrolled in daily, monthly and yearly sweepstakes andtheir chances of winning depend on the number of bones they havecollected over the corresponding time period. For security and sometimeslegal reasons, the maximum number of bones a user can accumulate in aday is fixed. In one embodiment, the maximum number is 100. Transientcookies 9 on PC 1 store the daily, monthly and yearly bone totals. Ajavascript on PC 1 displays a “bone box” on PC 1, containing the user'sfirst name and daily, monthy and yearly bone totals as stored in cookies9.

Each webserver 3 executes ID cookie module 10 and BCBT (bone countingbone tracking) module 11. ID cookie module 10 generates a unique user IDwhen a user registers and writes the ID in a persistent cookie, calledssuid, on PC 1. The unique user ID can be generated, for example, usingVignette Corporation's StoryServer Software package, which guaranteesthat the ID is specific and unique for each user and produces IDs thatare very difficult to generate without using the package (i.e., the IDsare difficult to “spoof”). ID cookie module 10 also generates a uniqueuser number, associated with each unique user ID, and writes the usernumber in a persistent cookie, called user_num, on PC 1. The user_numcookie is used as an index to conveniently access URL-Bone Table 12.

BCBT module 11 performs the following functions:

(a) determines whether the user interacting with the host system is aregistered user and sets the Register_flag cookie on PC 1 to ‘Y’ (yes)or ‘N’ (no) accordingly, causing the javascript on PC 1 to display amessage directing the user to register if he or she is not a registereduser;

(b) awards a number of bones to a user for requesting a hyperlink, orurl, based on the number specified in URL-Bone Table 12;

(c) awards bones to bone counter cookies on the user's PC andasynchronously or synchronously writes the number of awarded bones toDatabase Server 4 (Database Server 4 in turn updates user-bones table 5,which stores daily, monthly and yearly bone information for one or moreof the registered users).

(d) if the daily bone limit for a user has been reached, does notincrement the bone counter cookies or send awarded bone information forthe user to the database;

(e) writes the user's first name, and daily, monthly and yearly bonetotals to temporary cookies, called Firstname, Bonecounter_daily,Bonecounter_monthly and Bonecounter_yearly, respectively, which are thendisplayed in a “bone box” via a javascript that executes on PC 1;

(f) writes a special value into the Bonecounter_daily cookie when thesystem is unavailable because the Database Server 4 is transmitting boneinformation to Sweepstakes System 6 (called “bone time”), which in turncauses the javascript on PC 1 to display a message indicating that bonescannot be awarded at the present time; and

(g) when an error occurs, writes an error code in an Errorcode cookie onPC 1, causing the javascript to display the appropriate error message.

The BCBT module may be implemented as an NSAPI (Netscape ApplicationProgramming Interface) plug-in to a Netscape Enterprise Webserver (NES).

Preferably at least once a day, database server 4 sends new userinformation and updated bone information to sweepstakes system 6 for allnew users and all users who have received bones during the course of theday. If required to satisfy local and federal rules and regulationsregarding sweepstakes, sweepstakes system 6 may also receive mail-inrequests for bones via postcards 13 or other alternative means ofsweepstakes entry. Sweepstakes system 6 performs daily, monthly andyearly sweepstakes, with each user getting one entry for each of his orher daily, monthly and yearly bones.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a preferredembodiment of the present invention. In step 31, a user at PC 1 connectsto a web server 3 in host 2 by, for example, typing a url associatedwith host 2 in browser 7. In step 32, host 2 executes a module thatgenerates a webpage and downloads it to PC 1. In step 33, web server 3checks if ssuid and user_num cookies exist for the user by requestingthese cookies from PC 1. If browser 7 does not have cookies enabled, theuser cannot get any bones and PC 1 displays an appropriate error messageinforming the user that cookies must be enabled. As mentioned above, thessuid and user_num cookies are persistent cookies stored on PC 1containing a unique user ID and user number, respectively, for aregistered user of the system. If these cookies do not exist, either theuser has not yet registered with host system 2 or the cookies weredeleted (for example, because there was a fault in PC 1 or the cookieswere tampered with). If the user has previously registered, then hesigns in at steps 34 and 35 by entering his user name and password. Instep 36, web server 3 verifies the user name and password based on theinformation in password table 13. If the user name and password isverified, web server 3, in step 37, creates and sets the ssuid, user_numand DbIndicator cookies in PC 1. The DbIndicator cookie identifies thedatabase server 4 and user_bones table 5 containing information aboutthe user, which is useful if multiple databases are used. Otherwise, webserver 3 causes PC 1 to report a sign-in error to the user, at step 38,and the process returns to step 34.

If the user has not been previously registered, then he registers atstep 39. During registration, ID cookie module 10 on web server 3creates an entry for the user in password table 13 and creates a uniquessuid and user number for the user. Also, BCBT module 11 creates anentry for the user in a specific database server 4 and user_bones table5. The registration process also collects other information about theuser, such as the user's age and address, and determines if the user iseligible to participate in the sweepstakes by, for example, checking ifthe entered age is greater than or equal to 18 and the entered addressis located in a United States state or territory. This information canbe carefully verified in the event the user wins a sweepstake.Processing then proceeds to step 37, which again creates and sets thessuid and DBIndicator cookies on PC 1.

Next, in step 40, web server 3 creates and sets the following transientcookies on PC 1: Bonecounter_daily, Bonecounter_monthly,Bonecounter_yearly, Firstname, Registered_flag and Last_url.Bonecounter_daily, Bonecounter_monthly and Bonecounter_yearly cookiesstore the current number of daily, monthly and yearly bones,respectively. The Firstname cookie stores the user's first name. Thebonecounter and Firstname cookies are retrieved by BCBT module 11 fromthe user_bones table 5 and database server 4 identified by thepreviously set DbIndicator cookie. The Registered_flag cookie is set to‘Y’ (yes) or ‘N’ (no) depending on whether the user is registered. TheLast_url cookie holds the last url the user went to and is used forfraud detection, as explained below. The Last_url cookie preferablyexpires after 30 minutes; the other transient cookies expire when, forexample, the user logs off the Internet.

In step 41, a javascript running on PC 1 reads the bonecounter andFirstname cookies and displays the user's first name and daily, monthlyand yearly bonecounts in a box located, for example, at the top of PC1's display screen.

In step 42, the user clicks on a hyperlink, causing browser 7 on PC 1 tosend a url request to BCBT module 11 on web server 3. Url informationmay also be sent from a third party host, not part of host system 2, toBCBT module 11. In this way, a user may receive bones for accessing andusing websites that are not hosted by host 2. In one implementation, thethird party host includes an image tag containing a url associated withhost 2 on each webpage for which bones are awarded; when browser 7renders the third party webpage, it will request the url, which in turnwill cause the url to be sent to BCBT module 11 on a web server 3 inhost 2. If the user's ssuid and user_num cookies are set, BCBT module 11then awards the user the appropriate number of bones and returns animage containing the current bonecounts in a bone box, which is thendisplayed on PC 1. Alternatively, the third party host can displaycurrent bonecounts in a bone box via a javascript. In anotherimplementation, the third party host can execute its own version of BCBTmodule 11 that writes user bonecount information to a file, instead ofto database server 4. The file can then be sent periodically from thethird party host to database server 4, which in turn will updateuser_bones table 5.

In step 43, BCBT module 11 compares the received url to the url storedin the Last_url cookie. If the two are the same, the user does not getany bones for the request and processing resumes at step 42. Thisprevents a user from getting credit for, e.g., hitting the reload buttonon his browser. Otherwise, if the received url is different from the urlin the Last_url cookie, BCBT module 11 checks, in step 44, if the dailybone limit has been reached by reading the Bonecounter_daily cookie. Ifit has, processing resumes at step 42. If the daily bone limit has notbeen reached, BCBT module 11, in step 45, looks up the number of bonesassociated with the url in url-bone table 12 on web server 3. Each entryin url-bone table 12 comprises a url (or pathname) and a number of bonesassociated with the url. A master url-bone table is stored on databaseserver 4 and is automatically downloaded by each web server 3 whenever aweb server starts up. The master url-bone table is also periodicallydownloaded by each web server, for example, once a month, and, thedownloaded url-bone tables are also preferably automatically updatedwhenever the master url-bone table is updated. A received url is firstparsed before the table lookup occurs such that all characters after therightmost slash in the url are removed.

Finally, in step 46, BCBT module 11 determines, based on theBonecounter_daily cookie, if adding the associated number of bones tothe user's bone totals will exceed the user's daily bone limit. If itdoes not, BCBT module 11 adds the associated number of bones to theBonecounter_daily, Bonecounter_monthly and Bonecounter_yearly cookies onPC 1; otherwise, BCBT module 11 only adds enough bones to the threebonecounter cookies to bring the Bonecounter_daily cookie up to thedaily limit. The javascript on PC 1, in turn, displays the new bonetotals in real-time in the user-bone information box.

BCBT module 11 also sends the bone information to database server 4,which independently updates user_bones table 5. The bone information issent, in one embodiment, asynchronously to reduce the danger thatcommunications between web servers 3 and database server 4 will cause abottleneck, slowing down the performance of the overall system. BCBTmodule 11 sends to database server 4 the total number of bonesassociated with the url even if it will exceed the user's daily bonelimit. Database server 4 then performs its own determination of whetherthe daily bone limit for the user will be exceeded based on theinformation in user_bones table 5 and only adds enough bones to bringthe user up to the daily limit. This determination is performed in twoplaces, BCBT module 11 in web server 3 and database server 4, to ensurethat user_bones table 5 will store the correct number of cookies even ifsomething goes wrong with the cookie values that BCBT module 11 uses forits determination. This prevents a user from fraudulently obtainingbones by modifying his or her cookie values.

Database accesses are performed by a database access module executing ondatabase server 4. This module may be implemented as a pooled connectiondesign in which each web server 3 opens a number (for example, 8)connections to database server 4, with the final link in each connectionimplemented using, for example, RogueWave libraries, Oracles's Pro*C,OCI and/or Query Cache by Sapient Corporation. The writes to thedatabase can be done using asynchronous or synchronous calls to PL/SQLstored procedures. Preferably, synchronization points are set up in eachweb server 3 such that only one thread can use any one connection to thedatabase at any given time.

Preferably once a day, during an off-peak time such as the earlymorning, database server 4 transmits to sweepstakes system 6 new userinformation and daily bone information for each user who was awarded oneor more bones during the previous twenty-four hours. The time that thistransmission occurs is referred to as “bone time,” and is programmedinto BCBT module 11. If a user accesses host system 2 during bone time,BCBT module 11 will place a special token in a cookie that specifiesthat the bone counting system is unavailable. This cookie is read by thejavascript on PC 1, which in turn displays an appropriate message in theuser bone-box on PC 1. BCBT module 11 will come out of the bone timestate when a flag is set by database server 4 telling BCBT module 11that bone time is finished.

Sweepstakes system 6 conducts daily, monthly and yearly sweepstakes inaccordance with applicable local and federal rules and regulations. Eachuser automatically gets an entry in each daily, monthly and yearlysweepstakes for each of his or her daily, monthly and yearly bones.Preferably, the awards for each of the sweepstakes is large enough toencourage users to use host system 2. In one embodiment, the dailysweepstake prize is $10,000, the monthly sweepstake prize is $1,000,000,and the yearly sweepstake prize is $10,000,000.

FIG. 3 is a web page in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention. At the top of the page is user bone box 70. Under “Myentries”in the “$10,000 Daily prize” subbox 71, “$1 Million Monthly Prize”subbox 72 and “$10 Million Yearly Prize” subbox 73, the “--” is replacedby the current number of daily, monthly and yearly bones, respectively,once a registered user signs in. In addition, next to each hyperlink, anumber appears, indicating the number of bones a user will receive forclicking on the hyperlink.

1. A method of entering a user in a sweepstakes comprising: providing awebsite for access by a user, the website including a plurality ofhyperlinks to services and webpages in the website, and each of theplurality of hyperlinks having an associated point value indicative ofany number of points the user can get for clicking on the hyperlink,wherein at least two hyperlinks of the plurality of hyperlinks havedifferent associated point values, the associated point values for theplurality of hyperlinks being stored in look-up table stored in a webserver associated with the website; receiving a request that indicatesthat the user has clicked on one of the plurality of hyperlinks;determining a point value associated with the one of the plurality ofhyperlinks by looking up the associated point value in the look-uptable; awarding, based on the point value associated with the one of theplurality of hyperlinks, at least one point to the user as a result ofthe user clicking on the one of the plurality of hyperlinks; andawarding, based on a predetermined number of at least one point awardedto the user for clicking on the one of the plurality of hyperlinks, atleast one entry in a sweepstakes.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising automatically entering the user in the sweepstakes afterdetermining eligibility based on a number of factors including at leastone of age and location, and wherein a maximum number of points theuser, can accumulate in one day is fixed.
 3. The method of claim 1,further comprising: storing registration information pertaining to theuser; generating a spoof-resistant unique identifier of the user;writing the spoof-resistant unique identifier in a persistent cookie ona computer of the user; and using, but the host computer, the persistentcookie to allocate points.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the userreceives one entry in the sweepstakes for each point awarded to the userafter a redundant check is performed in both a counting bone trackingmodule of the host computer and a database server of the host computer,and wherein a transient cookie having last location information isprocessed to detect fraud.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user isawarded one or more points for accessing a feature of the webpage. 6.The method of claim 1, wherein the user is awarded one or more pointsfor making the webpage the user's home page.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the user is awarded one or more points for signing up for aservice offered by a host system.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein theservice is email.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:displaying the number of awarded points on a user computer systemassociated with the user, wherein the displayed number of points isupdated substantially concurrently with an award of additional points.10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: displaying the number ofawarded points on a user computer system associated with the user,wherein the displayed number of points is updated when additional pointsare awarded.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing thetable containing, for each hyperlink for which at least one point isawarded, a number of at least one point associated with the hyperlink.12. The method of claim 11, further comprising: displaying the number ofpoints associated with the at least one hyperlink on the webpage. 13.The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing a database on adatabase server, wherein the database stores point information relatingto the user.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: storing atable containing, for each hyperlink on the webpage for which points areawarded, a number of points associated with the hyperlink; displayingthe number of awarded points on a user computer system associated withthe user, wherein the displayed number of points is updatedsubstantially concurrently with an award of additional points; andtransmitting the points awarded to the user to the database server atleast once a day.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the points aretransmitted to the database server asynchronously to reduce bottlenecksbetween a web server and the database server.
 16. The method of claim 1,further comprising: allowing the user to connect to a third-partywebsite via a hyperlink on the webpage, wherein said hyperlink is one ofsaid plurality of hyperlinks; and awarding at least one point to theuser for accessing at least one feature of the third party website. 17.The method of claim 1, wherein a point value associated with one of theplurality of hyperlinks is displayed on the webpage in proximity towhere the one of the plurality of hyperlinks is displayed on thewebpage.
 18. The method of claim 1, wherein point values associated withrespective hyperlinks in the plurality of hyperlinks are displayed onthe webpage in proximity to where their respective hyperlinks in theplurality of hyperlinks are displayed on the webpage.
 19. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of hyperlinks includes a hyperlink to athird-party webpage and wherein the host computer system awards at leastone point to the user for accessing the hyperlink to the third-partywebpage.
 20. The method of claim 1, further comprising: storing thetable containing, for each hyperlink of the plurality of hyperlinks, anumber of at least one point associated with the hyperlink.
 21. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the awarded points are not used to redeemmerchandize or prizes.
 22. A sweepstakes system, comprising: a hostcomputer system hosting a website, wherein the website includes aplurality of hyperlinks to services and webpages in the website and eachof the plurality of hyperlinks has an associated point value indicatingany number of points a user can get for clicking on the hyperlink; and alook-up table stored in the host computer system, the look-up tablestoring the associated point values for the plurality of hyperlinks,wherein at least two hyperlinks of the plurality of hyperlinks havedifferent associated point values; wherein the host computer systemreceives a request that indicates that the user has clicked on one ofthe plurality of hyperlinks; wherein the host computer system determinesa point value associated with the one of the plurality of hyperlinks bylooking up the point value in the look-up table; wherein the hostcomputer system awards at least one point to the user as a result of theuser clicking on the one of the plurality of hyperlinks; and wherein theuser is given a number of at least one entry in a sweepstakes based on apredetermined number of points the user has been awarded for clicking onthe one of the plurality of hyperlinks.
 23. The system of claim 22,wherein the user is automatically entered by the host system in thesweepstakes after determining eligibility based on a number of factorsincluding at least one of age and location, and wherein a maximum numberof points the user can accumulate in one day is fixed.
 24. The system ofclaim 22, wherein the host computer system stores registrationinformation pertaining to the user, wherein a spoof-resistant uniqueidentifier of the user is written in a persistent cookie on a computerof the user and is used to allocate points, and wherein a transientcookie having last location information is processed to detect fraud.25. The system of claim 22, wherein the user receives one entry in thesweepstakes for each point the user has been awarded after a redundantcheck is performed in both a counting bone tracking module of the hostcomputer and a database server of the host computer.
 26. The system ofclaim 22, wherein the user is awarded one or more points for accessing afeature of the webpage.
 27. The system of claim 22, wherein the user isawarded one or more points for making the webpage the user's home page.28. The system of claim 22, wherein the user is awarded one or morepoints for signing up for a service offered by the host computer system.29. The system of claim 28, wherein the service is email.
 30. The systemof claim 22, wherein the point value associated with at least one of theplurality of hyperlinks is displayed on the webpage.
 31. The system ofclaim 22, wherein the point value for each of the plurality ofhyperlinks is displayed on the webpage.
 32. The system of claim 22,wherein the host computer system stores the table containing, for eachhyperlink on the webpage for which at least one point is awarded, anumber of at least one point associated with the hyperlink.
 33. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein the number of points awarded to the user isdisplayed on a user computer system when the user computer systemaccesses the webpage and the host computer system causes the displayednumber of points to be updated substantially concurrently with an awardof additional points.
 34. The system of claim 22, further comprising adatabase server storing a database; the database storing pointinformation relating to the user.
 35. The system of claim 34, wherein:the host computer system stores the table containing, for each hyperlinkfor which points are awarded, a number of at least one point associatedwith the hyperlink; the number of awarded points is displayed on a usercomputer system and the host computer system causes the displayed numberof points to be updated after an award of additional points; and thehost computer system transmits the points awarded to the user to thedatabase server at least once a day.
 36. The system of claim 35, whereinthe points are transmitted to the database server asynchronously toreduce bottlenecks between a web server and the database server.
 37. Thesystem of claim 22, further comprising: a third-party computer systemhosting a third-party website, wherein (i) a user computer systemaccessing the webpage can be connected to the third-party computersystem via one of the plurality of hyperlinks; and (ii) the hostcomputer system awards at least one point to the user for accessing theone of the plurality of hyperlinks that directs the user to thethird-party website.
 38. The method of claim 22, further comprising:connecting the user to a third-party website; and awarding points to theuser for accessing features of the third-party website.
 39. The systemof claim 22, wherein a point value associated with one of the pluralityof hyperlinks is displayed on the webpage in proximity to where the oneof the plurality of hyperlinks is displayed on the webpage.
 40. Thesystem of claim 22, wherein point values associated with respectivehyperlinks in the plurality of hyperlinks are displayed on the webpagein proximity to where their respective hyperlinks in the plurality ofhyperlinks are displayed on the webpage.
 41. The system of claim 22,wherein the plurality of hyperlinks includes a hyperlink to athird-party webpage and wherein the host computer system awards at leastone point to the user for accessing the hyperlink to the third-partywebpage.
 42. The system of claim 22, wherein the awarded points are notused to redeem merchandize or prizes.
 43. Computer code embedded in astorage medium performing: providing a website for access by a user, thewebsite including a plurality of hyperlinks to services and webpages inthe website, and each of the plurality of hyperlinks having anassociated point value indicative of any number of points the user canget for clicking on the hyperlink, wherein at least two hyperlinks ofthe plurality of hyperlinks have different associated point values, theassociated point values for the plurality of hyperlinks being stored inlook-up table stored in a web server associated with the website;receiving a request that indicates that the user has clicked on one ofthe plurality of hyperlinks; determining a point value associated withthe one of the plurality of hyperlinks by looking up the associatedpoint value in the look-up table; awarding, based on the point valueassociated with the one of the plurality of hyperlinks, at least onepoint to the user as a result of the user clicking on the one of theplurality of hyperlinks; and awarding, based on a predetermined numberof at least one point awarded to the user for clicking the one of theplurality of hyperlinks, at least one entry in a sweepstakes.
 44. Thecomputer code of claim 43, further performing: automatically enteringthe user in the sweepstakes after determining eligibility based on anumber of factors including at least one of age and location, andwherein a maximum number of points the user can accumulate in one day isfixed.
 45. The computer code of claim 43, further performing: storingregistration information pertaining to the user; generating aspoof-resistant unique identifier of the user; writing thespoof-resistant unique identifier in a persistent cookie on a computerof the user; and using, but the host computer, the persistent cookie toallocate points.
 46. The computer code of claim 43, wherein the userreceives one entry in the sweepstakes for each point awarded to the userafter a redundant check is performed in both a counting bone trackingmodule of the host computer and a database server of the host computer,and wherein a transient cookie having last location information isprocessed to detect fraud.
 47. The computer code of claim 43, whereinthe user is awarded one or more points for accessing a feature ofwebpage.
 48. The computer code of claim 43, wherein the user is awardedone or more points for making the webpage the user's home page.
 49. Thecomputer code of claim 43, wherein the user is awarded one or morepoints for signing up for a service offered by the host system.
 50. Thecomputer code of claim 49, wherein the service is email.
 51. Thecomputer code of claim 43, further performing: displaying the number ofawarded points, wherein the displayed number of points is updatedsubstantially concurrently with an award of additional points.
 52. Thecomputer code of claim 43, further performing: displaying the number ofawarded points on the user computer system, wherein the displayed numberof points is automatically updated when additional points are awarded.53. The computer code of claim 43, further performing: displaying on thewebpage a number of at least one point associated with at least onehyperlink displayed on the webpage.
 54. The computer code of claim 53,further performing: displaying the number of awarded points on the usercomputer system, wherein the displayed number of points is updatedsubstantially concurrently with an award of additional points.
 55. Thecomputer code of claim 43, further performing: storing a database on adatabase server, wherein the database stores point information relatingto the user.
 56. The computer code of claim 55, further performing thesteps of: storing a table containing, for each hyperlink on the webpagefor which at least one point is awarded, a number of at least one pointassociated with the hyperlink; displaying the number of awarded pointson the user computer system, wherein a host computer system causes thedisplayed number of points to be updated substantially concurrently withan award of additional points; and transmitting the points awarded tothe user to the database server at least once a day.
 57. The computercode of claim 56, wherein the points are transmitted to the databaseserver asynchronously to reduce bottlenecks between a web server and thedatabase server.
 58. The computer code of claim 56, further performing:connecting the user computer system to a third-party website; andawarding points to the user for accessing features of the third-partywebsite.
 59. The computer code of claim 43, further performingconnecting the user computer system to a third-party web site; andawarding points to the user for accessing features of the third-partywebsite.
 60. The system of claim 43, wherein the awarded points are notused to redeem merchandize or prizes.
 61. A method of entering a user ina sweepstakes comprising: providing a website for access by a user, thewebsite including a plurality of hyperlinks to services and webpages inthe website, and each of the plurality of hyperlinks having anassociated point value indicative of any number of points the user canget for clicking on the hyperlink, wherein at least two hyperlinks ofthe plurality of hyperlinks have different associated point values, theassociated point values for the plurality of hyperlinks being stored inlook-up table stored in a web server associated with the website;receiving a request that indicates that the user has clicked on one ofthe plurality of hyperlinks; determining a point value associated withthe one of the plurality of hyperlinks by looking up the associatedpoint value in the look-up table; awarding, based on the point valueassociated with the one of the plurality of hyperlinks, at least onepoint to the user as a result of the user clicking on the one of theplurality of hyperlinks; and exchanging automatically a predeterminednumber of at least one point of the awarded points for at least oneentry in a sweepstakes.